Rohan nodded. “I remember. You told me. I—I shared that with Maiven. I hope that’s okay.”

“She was a . . . what? A princess? My mother?” Thisbe dropped her hands into her lap and shook her head slowly. “She was a princess. And nobody ever knew.”

“She knew.”

“And she somehow landed on Quill and became a Necessary, doing the work the Wanteds didn’t want to do. Never saying a word about it. And dealing with people like Frieda Stubbs saying she was a pirate.”

“You said once that she died saving your life—yours and Fifer’s.”

Thisbe nodded slowly. “I’ve always wondered about something. Why didn’t she try to save Alex when he was sent to his death? But when the wall in Quill was about to fall, she saved us, apparently without hesitation.”

Rohan frowned. “Perhaps her instinct was to keep the black-eyed ruling line alive at all costs.” He paused. “Then again, I guess it could have been what any mother would do in a situation like that.”

“It’s strange she never told anyone who she was.”

“She might have been afraid to. And in your land, it seems like they wouldn’t have believed her if she’d told them. Or they’d send her to the death place for old people for telling stories.”

“I don’t really consider Quill to be my land,” Thisbe said, correcting him. “That’s the north side of the island, where I was born. But Artimé, where I grew up, is much different—that’s the magical side. It’s a good place.”

Rohan nodded as if he were making a mental note of it, his penchant for learning evident. “I’d love to see it someday—see where you grew up.”

Thisbe smiled. “Maybe you will.” Then she shook her head in wonder, remembering everything Rohan had just told her. “I still can’t believe it. I want to talk to Maiven.”

“And she wants to talk to you. She wanted to before but didn’t wish to take you away from your people or conflict you in any way after all you’d gone through. Especially since she wasn’t sure of anything at that point. Not until I described your vision to her in detail after you were gone did she know without a doubt.”

Thisbe kept shaking her head in disbelief, though the truth was becoming easier to see now that she had all the information. But the granddaughter of a queen? Thisbe looked up sharply. “So I am from the line of Taveer.”

“I believe we have established that.” A smile played at the corner of Rohan’s lips, but he refrained from further pointing out the obvious.

“And you? Are you also from the line of Taveer?”